The present invention is directed to a forage cutter or chopper with means for conveying the forage material within a housing where it is crushed between a pair of rollers or between a roller and a friction surface.
A forage cutter of this type is disclosed in French Pat. No. 2 455 852. The material cut in this device is conveyed in the upward direction by the cutter cylinder of a drum cutter and is directed to a crushing roller rotating within the cutter housing and the material is drawn into a slot by the roller with the slot located between impact bars on the roller and the bottom of the cutter cylinder whereby the material is crushed. After the crushing operation, the material is conveyed by a roller to blades aligned with a blade wheel axis extending perpendicularly to the axle of the drum cutter so that the crushed material is carried along.
In such an arrangement the blade wheel is expensive and its drive requires a comparatively costly power supply set-up.
In view of the considerable amount of equipment involved and its weight, and the unloading of the equipment, this known cutter is difficult to use in the field as a forage harvester and requires a heavy frame and support means.